


I'm trying to make it better (piece by piece)

by Elisexyz



Category: Timeless (TV 2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Episode: s02e10 Chinatown, F/M, Fix-It, Hurt/Comfort, rufus lives
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-06
Updated: 2018-06-06
Packaged: 2019-05-19 01:16:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,487
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14863895
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elisexyz/pseuds/Elisexyz
Summary: “How is Rufus anyway?” he asks.Lucy inhales, crossing her legs on the bed and shifting so that her back is more comfortably resting against the wall. Her left knee is totally invading his personal space, but he doesn’t seem to mind. “Stable, for now,” she repeats what the doctor that they managed to drag in in record time said. “We almost lost him, but—” She gets cut off by a sudden wave of shock at that impliedcould have been, but she manages to get a grip fairly quickly. “He’s fighting, I’m sure he’ll be okay,” she ends up saying, turning slightly around to throw another tight smile his way.





	I'm trying to make it better (piece by piece)

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Tumblr prompt: [65\. “Look at me—just breathe, okay?” + Garcy](http://heytheredeann.tumblr.com/post/174637711614/garcy-and-65-iknow-you-ship-it-but-i-never-saw).  
>  It's a canon divergence, so Rufus lives because I say so and, just for the record... Flynn's injury confuses the hell out of me. Like, looking at where they placed the bloodstain it seemed like a shot that would have pierced his _lung_ , it didn't seem high enough to have hit the shoulder (which is still a pretty serious injury, but at least there are no _lungs_ in the shoulder), so what...happened...? Maybe if the bullet hit at a certain angle it could miss the lung...?  
>  Let's just say, merely to _not_ have two people on the brink of death at the same time and to make things a bit easier for my poor ignorant self, that this is my canon divergence and here it's 100% a shoulder wound. ~~I have the power.~~

“Hey,” she greets, tiredly, leaning against the open door. She’d normally just get in, especially with the door left open in what seems a lot like an invitation, but she’s feeling annoyingly edgy, and she isn’t sure if she wants to go and sit down just yet.

“Hey,” Flynn echoes, letting the book fall on his lap and closing it on his hand. His attention gets immediately fixated on her, and, self-centred as it sounds, Lucy feels relieved.

She knows that she looks like hell, with bruises and cuts all over her face and probably some drained tears in the corner of her eyes, but Flynn has never made her regret any show of vulnerability.

“I saw you going away, before,” she comments. She was sitting with Wyatt as they waited for news on Rufus, and she caught him turning his back on them and disappearing around the corner. She isn’t sure if she’s trying to accuse him, to ask why he thought that not offering support would be a good idea, or if she’s just eager to make sure that he didn’t get the wrong impression.

_I love you. You don’t have to say it back, I just—_

Flynn shrugs. “I thought I’d leave you guys alone,” he explains. “Rufus and I aren’t exactly— tight.”

“Ah.” Lucy stares in silence for a couple of seconds, oddly touched by the sentiment. “That’s very— thoughtful,” she comments, offering a small smile – it feels a little forced, because smiling hurts and she’s trying not to reopen any cuts, but the sentiment is sincere nonetheless.

“What can I say? I’m a sensitive guy,” Flynn teases, and the atmosphere seems to ease a little. Rufus is still lying unconscious on a bed, she can still see all the blood soaking his clothes and leaving an horrifying trail as they carried him away, she can still feel her desperation as Emma slipped under her fingers, the _hate_ — and not long before, her mother died in front of her, still wishing that she had decided to brainwash her earlier. And because she doesn’t have enough on her plate, Wyatt decided to drop that bombshell on her, saying that he wasn’t expecting anything but following her with needy eyes later, as she left.

Everything pretty much sucks. Yet, she finds that she can breathe a little bit easier as Flynn throws a light remark at her and offers a break from all that horror.

“Can I…?” she asks, briefly gesturing towards his bed.

He nods, putting away his book and gesturing for her to sit next to him. It’s not unlike those times that they’ve shared the couch during a movie, except that right now there’s no ulterior motive, she’s quite obviously just seeking his company for the sake of it.

“How is Rufus anyway?” he asks.

Lucy inhales, crossing her legs on the bed and shifting so that her back is more comfortably resting against the wall. Her left knee is totally invading his personal space, but he doesn’t seem to mind. “Stable, for now,” she repeats what the doctor that they managed to drag in in record time said. “We almost lost him, but—” She gets cut off by a sudden wave of shock at that implied _could have been_ , but she manages to get a grip fairly quickly. “He’s fighting, I’m sure he’ll be okay,” she ends up saying, turning slightly around to throw another tight smile his way.

He reciprocates, probably with much more conviction than she did. “I’m glad to hear that.”

They fall into a comfortable silence, which doesn’t really surprise her anymore, and she finds herself debating whether to bring up her conversation with Wyatt or not. There are— a _lot_ of things that she should probably talk about, a lot of things that she feels the need to _scream_ about, but Amy, her mother, Emma— what can she _do_ about that now? She already literally cried all over Flynn about it – wasting everybody’s time when they should have been running for Rufus’ life, she might add –, and she’s trying _not_ to dwell on it. Not now, at least. She’ll probably have to face it someday but— not now.

Wyatt, though, makes her mad in a totally different way. It’s righteous anger and disappointment and a whole lot of _hurt_ for being his _rebound_ , and she does want to talk about it, to vent and at least solve _something_ in this mess, but at the same time a part of her would just rather _forget_ it ever happened.

“What is it?” Flynn prompts, his concern mixed with a bit of amusement.

“What?” she plays dumb, even though she has by now learnt that it will not work.

“That’s the face you make when you want to tell me something but you are feeling conflicted about it.”

“I didn’t know I had a specific face for _that_.”

“You do. So?”

She sighs. Well, since he’s asking so nicely— “Wyatt told me he loves me,” she says, all at once, her eyes peeking up at Flynn to spy his reaction.

He blinks. “And this was… when?”

“Before,” Lucy supplies, a note of anger in her voice. “When we were waiting for news on Rufus.”

Flynn scoffs. “Great timing, I must say.”

“No kidding,” Lucy deadpans. Petty as it is, it feels good not to be the only one to be at least a little bit annoyed by this.

She hates that he made it happen like that. That he chose to tell here when they were waiting to know if their best friend would die or not, _after_ he lost his wife again, when Lucy was once again the only available option. It hurts because under different circumstances, if so much hadn’t happened, she would have been _overjoyed_ to hear him say that.

“You know, I can break his fingers if it helps,” Flynn offers, after a pause. He’s grinning with complicity and Lucy can’t help the – probably just a little bit hysterical – giggle escaping her throat.

She shakes her head, still smiling even if she might really open up a cut or two if she keeps it up, and she gives him an affectionate shove. Completely forgetting that he’s wearing the damn sling for a reason, obviously.

“Oh my god, I’m _so_ sorry—” she immediately says, when he grunts in pain. “I’m sorry, I didn’t— I didn’t mean to—” She has turned her whole body towards him, her hands reaching for his shoulder automatically, even if she doesn’t dare touching it and she really has no idea what she’s supposed to do to help. She can feel panic creeping up under her skin, because she’s the one who made a quick bandage for him as they left in a hurry to try and save Rufus, she _knows_ how much it bled and how bad it looked— “I can call someone, the doctor, I—”

“Lucy,” he interrupts, firmly, raising his hand to squeeze her shoulder. “Look at me. It’s okay,” he says, soothingly. “Just breathe, okay? It’s nothing, I’ll live.”

She does obey, taking a deep breath through her nose and letting the air fill her lungs before letting go, because she _knows_ that her panicking won’t help anybody, but she also knows that it’s not _okay_ and that he’s mainly just trying to calm her down.

“It’s not _nothing_ ,” she protests. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking—”

“Apology accepted,” he says, his hand still gripping her shoulder. He’s smiling to drive the point home, and in spite of still being quite on edge, Lucy reciprocates.

“Maybe I should— move to the other side,” she says, after a few seconds. He looks more than a bit amused, but he nods and he moves a little to his right as she stands up.

When she sits, she ends up leaving very little space between them. She doesn’t have to think much about it before shifting even closer and dropping her head on his shoulder, making sure to pay attention so that she can catch any pained sound. He seems okay though, and she doesn’t want to move.

She eyes his hand, resting on his thigh, and she decides that it’s been one hell of a day and that she does deserve to at least _try_ and get some affection, dammit. She slowly reaches for his hand, brushing her fingers against it to warn him and give him a chance to retreat. Instead, he turns his palm up closes his fingers around hers.

“Thank you— for earlier,” she says, quietly, almost afraid to ruin this one moment of peace. Maybe she shouldn’t have said anything at all, but she didn’t get around to thanking him earlier, and as much as she’s convinced that he knows how grateful she is, she prefers not to leave it unspoken.

He doesn’t answer, giving her hand a squeeze instead. Lucy closes her eyes, enjoying the silence.


End file.
